Mark Palumbo, M.D.

Specialties:

Mark Palumbo MD is a board-certified and fellowship-trained spine surgeon at University Orthopedics. He specializes in reconstructive surgery of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine for the adult patient. These operations function to relieve compression of the neurologic structures and to restore structural integrity to the spinal column. Dr Palumbo has special expertise in disorders of the cervical spine including extensive experience in cervical total disc replacement. His clinical and research interests encompass spinal stenosis, disc herniation, scoliosis and athletic injuries of the spine.

Meet Dr. Palumbo:

Dr Palumbo was born and raised in Rhode Island. He attended Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick and went on to receive his B.A. and Doctorate of Medicine from Boston University.

He completed his orthopedic residency at Brown University followed by fellowship training in spine surgery at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr Palumbo serves as Professor and Chief of the Division of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopedics at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He serves as a consultant Team Physician for the Brown University Department of Athletics and is on the medical staff of Rhode Island Hospital, the Miriam Hospital and Westerly Hospital.

Dr Palumbo is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and a member of the North American Spine Society, the Rhode Island Orthopedic Society and the American Medical Association. He has received numerous teaching awards, published over sixty peer-reviewed articles and serves on multiple committees within the Brown University Department of Orthopedics and the national academic spine societies.

On a personal note, Dr Palumbo resides in West Greenwich with his wife, Anne, and their three children. In his spare time he enjoys mountain biking, hiking, skiing and fishing.

Offices:

East Greenwich
1598 South County Trail
East Greenwich, RI
02818

Kettle Point
1 Kettle Point Ave.
East Providence, RI
02914

Professional Affiliations:

Associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Brown Medical School

Board-certified by The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

Member of the North American Spine Society

Member of the RI Orthopedic Society

Reconstructive and trauma surgery for the
adult spine

My Assistant

Kailey E. Lyford, PA-C

Kailey E. Lyford, PA-C is a physician assistant (PA) who specializes in spine disorders and works with Mark A. Palumbo, MD and Alan H. Daniels, MD. She spends her time both in the office seeing patients as well as assisting in the operating room alongside Dr. Palumbo and Dr. Daniels.

Kailey grew up in southern Rhode Island and received her undergraduate degree in Allied Health Science at University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. She then completed her Master in Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2013 at Arcadia University in Christiana, Delaware. Kailey is a board-certified Physician Assistant (PA-C) through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) as well as a member of Pi Alpha, the National Honor Society for Physician Assistants. Kailey is also the Clinical Liaison between University Orthopedics and Bryant University’s Physician Assistant program, coordinating rotations for students at our practice and acting as one of their clinical preceptors.

Prior to moving back to Rhode Island and joining University Orthopedics in 2015, Kailey practiced pediatric orthopedics at the Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. While she spent time working in general pediatric orthopedic care, she specialized in cerebral palsy and neuromuscular conditions.

Krista Szatkowski, PA-C

Krista Szatkowski is a physician assistant who specializes in spinal disorders, working with Mark Palumbo, MD and Alan Daniels, MD. Krista is involved in the many facets of care for our spine patients; seeing patients in the office as well as assisting both Dr. Palumbo and Dr. Daniels in the operating room.

Krista grew up in Rhode Island and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Rhode Island in Biological Sciences and went on to earn her Masters of Science degree at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She is nationally certified by the National Commission for Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and is also a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

Prior to joining University Orthopedics in 2016, Krista began her career in Neurosurgery focusing on spine disorders and pain management.

Patient Testimonials

Patient Testimonial - What can you say to the people who saved your mother’s life?

Patient Success Story Videos

Laminoplasty - Ken's Story

Ken is an active individual who owns his own business and takes pride in staying physically fit. When debilitating neck pain affected his work and home life he met with University Orthopedic's spine surgeon Dr. Mark Palumbo to diagnose the condition. Together they decided that Laminoplasty surgery was the best course of action. This video tells Ken's story.

See Dr. Palumbo and patient Roxanne Sardelli Greenway talk about the road to her "After."

Spinal Stenosis - Coleen's Story

There is nothing funny about chronic back pain. As a comedian, business owner and mother, Coleen found this out the hard way. She turned to Dr. Mark Palumbo and the Center for Spine Health to get her back on track to enjoying life again.

Cervical Disc Replacement - Lorenzo's Story

Tennis, golf and mountain climbing were just a few activities that Lorenzo was able to return to after undergoing a cervical disc replacement at the Center for Spine Health at University Orthopedics, Inc.. In the video below we hear from Dr. Mark Palumbo about the procedure and how it got Lorenzo back to doing the things he loves to do.

D Spenciner, D Green, J Paiva, M Palumbo and J Crisco.Can the multi-directional bending properties of the lumbar intervertebral disc be predicted from the components of the principal anatomical axes?
Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society
March 2004

M Palumbo, A Hilibrand, H Bohlman and J Davis:Stenosis of the thoracic spinal canal. Proceedings of 64th Annual Meeting of the AAOS
February 1997

K Riew, M Palumbo, A Hilibrand and H Bohlman:Complications of anterior cervical surgery for post-laminectomy kyphosis. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Meeting of the Cervical Spine Research Society
December 1996

A Hilibrand, G Carlson, M Palumbo, and H Bohlman:Radiculopathy due to degeneration of segments adjacent to anterior cervical fusions. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Meeting of the Cervical Spine Research Society
December 1996

A Hilibrand, G Carlson, M Palumbo, and H Bohlman:Radiculopathy due to degeneration of segments adjacent to anterior cervical fusions. Proceedings of the 11th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society
October 1996

M Palumbo, M Hulstyn, P Fadale, T O’Brien and L Shall: The effect of protective football equipment on alignment of the injured cervical spine - Radiographic analysis in a cadaveric model. Proceedings of the 1995 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
July 1995

The Effect of Protective Football Equipment on Alignment of the Injured Cervical Spine - Radiographic Analysis in a Cadaveric Model.
1994 American Orthopaedic Association
Residents Conference
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
April 1995

The Effect of Protective Football Equipment on Alignment of the Injured Cervical Spine - Radiographic Analysis in a Cadaveric Model.
American College of Surgeons
1994 Resident Trauma Paper Competition (Regional Finals)
Boston, Massachusetts
December 1994